DVD Player with DivX Capabilities:

[sisabet]

So - I recently purchased the Philips DV642 DivX-Certified model (after getting one for drdawn for a Christmas present and this was after a rec from fazalot).

My impression so far is that I really, really like this machine. The remote is strange, but since all remotes feel strange to me (seriously, I have a sort of remote-dyslexia thing happening)this is not a big deal. This machine can do the two most important things that I need it to do: I can hack it to play multi-region (and a truly simple, 5 second hack it is) and it plays avi (well mpeg-4) files burned to CD-R or DVD. This means that I can pop in a DVD of Full-Metal Alchemist eps in avi format or Stargate Atlantis and just watch. I don't have to upload these files to my computer - run them through tmpenc and reburn with Nero. I just sit and watch.

I like sitting and watching. Multi-region means I can pop in a disc of The Invisible Man Season 1 and kick back as well. So far, the picture quality seems excellent although my TV is dying a slow death (thankfully very slow).

The price is incredibly low (IMO) considering all the machine can do, but lately I keep seeing a lot of online retailers on backorders. My local CompUSA has a ton of these things in stock - so if you are buying it, you might want to give local retailers a call.


Now - I've seen a few other DivX machines today on Amazon and I want to know more about them:



The Norcent DP-220 looks interesting, especially considering the price is $40-50. If I had more than one TV, it might be a good buy.

I wasn't able to find a multi-region hack for it. Does anyone have this machine? Thoughts?



RCA DRC240N - DivX Capable Progressive Scan Player actually looks to be somewhat competitive with the Philips model in price, with better reviews on the interface and ability to decode avis, but I can't find any region hacks for it (although there is an interest in finding the hack - just no success stories yet).



So for now, I am very happy with the Philips 642- I highly recommend it - but what about DVD players I am missing? Are there more - will there be more? Cause I love this Divx stuff.

Comments

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

I have the Norcent DP-300, bought on sale for about $40. I do have multi-region hack instructions, too.

[absolutedestiny.livejournal.com]

There are lots of divx-capable dvd players around now. Many of them have similar features as lots of them are based upon the same chipset.

Current opinion favours players based on the Mediatek 1389FE chipset. The player you got is based on the Vibrato II chipset which handles a lot of divx content perfectly fine too altough I believe encodes using q-pel accuracy may not play correctly. Thankfully, you won't find many encodes that use this feature as it can often do more harm than good.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Ohh - I have no idea about any of this. I just did a search at Amazon for "divx" -- what players are using the Mediatek 1389FE chipset?

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

Whoo-Hoo -- tell me about your player (I need to always have at least two working players at all times in order to breathe properly). How does it play avis, reg DVDs, have you hacked it yet?

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

It's about what you'd expect from a cheap player. I don't know about AVIs, but it does play the vid disks I get from gwyn_r. Also CDs and MP3s, too. Sometimes it's a little slow to react from the remote, or make a funny noise when the disk is loading, but overall it's pretty painless.

It even has features (on the remote) such as zoom, subtitles, standby, slow, frame-by-frame, etc. I can't believe there are DVD players out there that don't have that stuff, which is why I'm bothering to mention it.

One annoyance is that the power button is sort of old-fashioned--you push it in and it stays in until you push it off. You cannot turn it on or off by using the remote, but you can use standby.

I haven't hacked it personally because I misunderstood my friend's directions...but after about the third explanation, I think I got the hang of it and could do it myself. lol

[absolutedestiny.livejournal.com]

http://www.divxtest.com have some lists and a page to compare some players. The Peekton and Pioneer players here (http://www.divxtest.com/article.php3?id_article=60) using the mediatek chipset have scored highest for compatibility.

[debchan.livejournal.com]

I have the 642 as well and like it well enough. However, I've had mixed results with anime files with subtitles. There are times when the subtitles run off the edges and/or bottom of the screen.

There's another player I'm tempted by ( http://www.kiss-technology.com/ ) as it has an ethernet port. Just hook it up to your network and play the files right out of a shared folder on your pc. No burning needed. However, it's too spendy for my pocketbook at the moment.